Peiser dedicated a chunk of his high school career to Silvermine, doing work in and around the area as part of his Eagle Scout project and his senior internship with the New Canaan Land Trust. Now the 17-year-old is being rewarded for his service with a $2,000 scholarship from the Silvermine Community Association.

Peiser is one of seven local students to receive scholarships from the Silvermine Community Association, but is the only student from New Canaan to receive an award from the organization, which consists of members from the neighborhood stretching through parts of New Canaan, Norwalk and Wilton. The association has been awarding scholarships to Silvermine residents for 60 years and awarded a historic number of financial awards this year, due to strong fundraising efforts from the community. The organization gave out $13,000 to seven students.

“The Silvermine Community Association is a group of people who are very passionate about the community,” Peiser said. “They do a lot of outreach work.”

According to the scholarship committee, Peiser was chosen for his classroom performance, civic activities, faculty recommendations and personal interests, including his gift for math and science and sense of purpose from his decision to use math and science to help improve and preserve the environment.

Peiser started doing outreach in the Silvermine area, starting with his Eagle Scout project, where he worked on a property outside the Silvermine community, installing a gate and boarding an area with logs for parking. For his senior internship with the New Canaan Land Trust, Peiser built a trail on the Silvermine property.

“I learned a lot about sustainability and conservation,” he said of his time working on the trail during his internship.

The teen has done additional community outreach through the New Canaan Ram Council Foundation, a nonprofit for New Canaan high schoolers committed to substance-free living. Through the council, Peiser presented talks and events to prevent substance use among local teens.

The scholarship money Peiser earned will go toward helping him pay for expenses at the University of Wisconsin where he’ll be a student in the fall, studying chemical engineering.